70-680 Scheduled! (again)

I have given myself a month to study for my next attempt on the 70-680. I will be using the following tools:
(I couldn't get a line break in between the text and my list... so we get awesome horizontal lines instead

)

MCTS Microsoft Windows 7 Configuration Study Guide 2nd Sybex / William Panek (978-0-470-94845-3)
Professor Messer's 70-680 Prep videos
(Maybe) CBT Nuggets 70-680 Prep videos

I intend to review more than the exam objectives (which is one of the main reasons I am giving myself a month instead of a few weeks to hit the topics I did poorly on). Anyway, I will be making a schedule for myself tonight to ensure I complete the books and videos without having to rush towards the end. But I need help! Can anyone suggest a good lab resource? The sybex book does have labs, but I think a dedicated lab tool would be helpful even if it is simply a different format from the sybex book. Any assistance is very much appreciated and I will gladly assist anyone who is reaching for a similar goal. I hope to update this post on April 22nd with good news.

Thanks.

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Comments

Mike-Mike

I used the Sybex book on my first failed attempt.... I felt it did not do a good job of preparing me for the exam.. I was crushing the practice tests on the Sybex cd, but the cert exam killed me

webgeek

Good luck!

biggene

Good luck,

I have my second shot scheduled for April 19th, and I have been using the Poulton book, Professor Messer's, videos, and my VM lab on my laptop to do all of the practice exercises in the Poulton book.

Gene

About7Narwhal

I have heard mixed reviews about the Sybex 70-680, which is really disappointing. Everyone always hypes these books up as being one of the best, and I get the dud. lol Oh well, we will have to see I guess. Hopefully I can manage with this book and some heavy labs. Thanks for the encouragement. This one has been getting me down after my fail. Hope to see success this time around.

hanakuin

It's been a long time since I took this exam, I do have a co-worked that took it recently. They didn't have good luck with the Sybex book, however they did have great things to say about: MCTS 70-680 Rapid Review: Configuring Windows® 7 (ISBN-10: 0735657297). It gave him exposure to subjects that other books missed.

About7Narwhal

Sadly, I am on page 8 of this book and have already run into missing information. Nothing is wrong yet, but small things I know as fact are not listed. I am not sure if it would come up, but it sure is nice to know that Starter edition only supports 32-bit, just as an example. I may need another book. Shame, I hate to waste time like this.

About7Narwhal

I have been reviewing Imaging and Deployment until I felt like my eyes were going to bleed. While I know most, if not all, of the topics are very important in this regard, I was hoping some of you might be able to point out some key areas to focus on? There is a massive amount of information as it stands and I would like to avoid focusing on the wrong topics if possible.

Thanks.

kriscamaro68

About7Narwhal wrote: »

I have been reviewing Imaging and Deployment until I felt like my eyes were going to bleed. While I know most, if not all, of the topics are very important in this regard, I was hoping some of you might be able to point out some key areas to focus on? There is a massive amount of information as it stands and I would like to avoid focusing on the wrong topics if possible.

Thanks.

Know the imagex and dism commands. Know what switches are used and when to use them. Also know USMT commands and when to use and not use them.

About7Narwhal

Great. I want to say I didn't see many WDS or WDT questions, but i figured I should double check. Thanks.

About7Narwhal

681 this time around. I was very close and got above 75% on 4 of the topics and above 50% on all topics. I hope to review and take my second shot by Wednesday.

Rosco2382

so close man, good luck. I am preparing for my 680 that I wanna take in mid June.

About7Narwhal

If it makes anyone feel better, I felt this exam was much easier than the 2011 & 2012 versions that I took. The questions seemed less cryptic to me. Got it rescheduled for next Monday. Hope to seal the deal with this thing.

biggene

Good luck.

DavidHoffmanJr

Good luck Narwhal!

Dakinggamer87

Good luck bring home a win!!

About7Narwhal

Thanks folks! I hope to get this thing behind me. I was so close I could taste it last time. I won't let several months pass by like I had done before. Sunday will certainly be a long night for the though!

I'll update on Monday.

About7Narwhal

Heading out here soon for my retake. Getting some quality Messer time before I go. Will update one way or the other once I get home in a few hours.

Mike-Mike

good luck!

kriscamaro68

Hoping for a pass this time.

About7Narwhal

Well, I got there and started my exam and immediately knew I was going to fail. The questions that were on the exam were very difficult in terms of wording and specifics. User GPO/LGP vs Computer GPO/LGP, Exact name and location of certain objects in the GUI (Which you think would be easy, but then you see two answers that are very similar), etc, etc. Anyone who has taken it certainly knows how surprising this exam can be.

That said, I passed the exam with a 700/1000; no room to spare. You cannot imagine how happy I am to have this thing behind me. On to the next one I suppose!

Mike-Mike

great job! hope to join you in the pass club soon

garywin7

well done that man

that post was well done - you had me fooled completely !

-hype

Good job, those microsoft exams are scary! On to the 70-686?

bub9001

Ya!!!!!!

I always like hearing someone passing this exam.

kriscamaro68

Congrats on the pass!!!!

biggene

Congrats on the pass. I am labbing my buns off this time, and I will pass the next time I take it.

About7Narwhal

Thanks guys! Feels great to have it behind me, especially because I was going to drop it had I failed again. Know the advanced stuff but don't forget the basics either. Nothing worse than going strong on technical question then getting stopped dead in your tracks by the "I SHOULD KNOW THIS!!!" questions.

As for the next exam, I will probably be polling the forum for advice. So look for a thread in Off-Topic either tonight or tomorrow.

Ivanjam

@About7Narwhal - congrats on the pass - your perseverance is inspiring.

Psoasman

Congrats on passing!

Essendon

Late to the party but AWESOME work mate! Congrats!